Ice tray



y 8, 1950 E. H. LUTZ 2,515,457

ICE TRAY Filed June 19, 1936 INVENTOR EDWARD H. Lu-rz ATTOR WITN ESSES:

Patented July 18, l950 j UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE ICE TRAY Edward H.- Lutz,-Norwood, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 19, 1936,. Serial- No.'86,030'

15 Claims.

My invention-relatesto liquid-.congealingapparatus'and particularly to liquid 'congealing apparatus for use domestic refrigerators.

- It is anobject of'myinven-tion to provide-improved; liquid congealing apparatus from which ice cubes can bereadily removed without the application; ofzheat.

-' '-It is another object of: my invention to-provide animproved gridstructure for liquid congealing apparatus-from which a small number of ice cubes-may be removed without disturbing the remaining ice cubes contained in the grid structure.

It is still another object oimy invention to provide a rigid: grid structureirom which ice-cubes may. be removed in numbers as desired by the movement of actuating members operatively attached to the rigid grid structure.

It is a further object of my invention to provide liquid congealing apparatus in which food odors are prevented from contaminating the ice cubes and the evaporation of liquid from the pan member is minimized by the use of covers over the pan member.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the-accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of liquid congealing apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. .2 is a sectional View, taken along the line IIII or A-A of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a grid structure embodying my invention;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the grid member embodying my invention with some parts removed for clarity; and

Fig. 5 is a detail of a transverse wall member of the grid.

Referring specifically to the drawing for a d'e-' tailed description of my invention, numeral [0 designates a substantially rigid pan, preferably formed of aluminum. A removable grid l2, preferably formed of aluminum is disposed in the pan It and forms, with the pan, a plurality of cells M for forming ice cubes H3. The grid I2 comprises a rigid longitudinal wall I8 as shown in Fig. 4' and a plurality of rigid transverse walls 20, both of Whiclrprovide vertical partitions when disposed in' the pan In to form the ice cells M. The longitudinal wall I8 is provided with slots (not shown opening at the top thereof, and the transverse walls 25 are provided with a slot 24 at thebottom thereof. The transverse walls Zllan'd th'e'longitudinal' wall [8 are rigidly assembled in the manner well known in the art by sliding. the

transverse walls 211 over the longitudinal wall It? so that the longitudinal wall I8" isinserted in the slot of; the transverse walls 20 and the transverse walls 20 intothe slots of the longitudinal wall-18.

The transverse walls" 211' are each provided with an extended portion Iii-which serves as a bearing for ashaft 2 8 which extends the entire length of the grid member I2. 1 .Mechanical ejecting means is provided forremoving .the grid structure l2 from thepan 10. The mechanical ejectingmeans comprises handles .30 and 32, one of which is shown broken in Fig. 1 for the sake of clarity. The handles 38 and 32 are attached to the grid structure ['2 by leverportions 33 and 35', respectively, which are attached tothe shaft'2'8 at opposite ends thereof bypivota-l connections 3.4 and Y36'. The use of similar handle meansror removing a grid from a pan is fully described and claimedin Patent No. 2,037,519, issued April' '14,11936, to J. N. .Saler, for Liquid Congealingl Apparatus, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.

In order to .break the bond between the ice cubes It contained i the cell's'il4' and the grid member f2 without the application of heat, bellcrank members '40; made from any suitable material, such as" die cast aluminum,are operatively attachedto' theshaft 28 on 'either'side of the longitudinal wall 3. I H a v Thebell-cr'ank member 4 0 comprisesa portion 42whichextends outwardlyjfr'om the shaft 228 andis provided with a projection 4 3 which rests on theedge 38' of the pan [0 as shown at 44 in Fig. 2. 'I'he'projection servesto keepthe portion 42 on the-paum'emb'er 10' to prevent'freezing thereto. "The bell-crank memberlfl also comprises a breaking men'iber dfi, integral with and disposed at right angles to the portion 42,-which member extends into the cell 'l l adjacent to the longitudinal wall I8 and is contiguous with the ice cube I 6 when it is frozen therein. As shown in Figs. '1 and 2, the" portions- 42 of the bell-crank member 40'in'this embodiment serve as a cover forthe'pan member HI, and prevents the contaJnination-of'the ice cubes H5 in the cells ['4 by food odors, and minimizes the evaporation of water from the pan memberlll, which would eventually-be-deposited asfrost upon the evaporator, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the refrigerator. It is'obvious that theportions 42 may assume variousforms without-departing from the spirit of my invention.

In l' ig'l 1, I.=-'show, :at the right hand portion of the tray, rthree:cells I 4- omeach side of the langitudinal wall I8, each cell being provided with an individual cover 48 and, at the left hand portion of the tray, I show four additional cells I4 on each side of the longitudinal wall member II, the latter being provided with covers 50 each of which covers two cells I4. It is obvious that the cover portions may be extended to cover any desired number of cells I4 lying on one side of the longitudinal section I8. As shown in Fig. 4, where the cover portion 42 extends over one cell I 4, the breaking member 46 extends only into the single cell I4. Where the cover portion 50 extends over two cells I4, two breaking members 52 extend into two cells I4.

In practicing my invention, the grid I2 containing ice cubes I6 is removed from the pan II) by rotating the handles 30 and 32 outwardly until the lever portions 33 and 35, respectively, contact the edge 38 of the pan Ill. The edge 38 acts as a fulcrum and the ortions 33 and 35 as levers to break the bond between the ice cubes I6 inthe grid I2 and the pan I0.

After the grid I2 has been removed from the pan ID, the outer edge of the cover portion of the bell-crank member 40 may be moved upwardly by the finger tips, whereupon the member is angularly adjusted to cause the portion 46 to break the bond between the ice cube I6 and the vertical partitions I8 and 20 of the grid I2. If the cover portion 42 extends over only cell I4, movement of the cover portion 42 rotates breaking member 46, and the bond between the ice cube I6 in that cell alone will be broken. If, however, a cover portion 50 of the bell-crank member 40 extends over two cells I4, the upward movement of the cover portion 50 will rotate two of the breaking members 52 and will break the bond between the ice cubes I6 contained in two cells, the bond between the remaining ice cubes and the grid member I2 remaining unbroken.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that I have provided liquid congealing apparatus in which any number of ice cubes may be readily removed as desired from the grid, without the application of heat and without breaking the bond between the grid and the remaining ice cubes, and in which cover members prevent the contamination of the ice cubes by food odor and minimizes the evaporation of water from the pan member.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by'the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a metallic grid member for dividing the pan member into a plurality of ice cells containing ice cubes, means for raising said grid member from said pan member, a plurality of cover portions rotatably attached to said grid member, and breaking members attached to said cover portions and angularly disposed with respect thereto, said breaking member projecting into said pan members and being movable by lifting of said cover members to eifect breaking of the ice bond between the ice cubes and the grid member.

2. In liquid congealing apparatus'the combination of a pan member, a grid structure for bers rotatably connected to said transverse wall members and embodying a cover portion for said pan member and breaking members connected to each of said bell crank members and extending into said pan member in contact with said ice cubes, said breaking members being so disposed that the upward movement of said cover portions effects the removal of ice from one or more of said cells as desired.

3. In a grid structure for an ice freezing tray, the combination of a longitudinally-extending and substantially vertical wall member, a pair of spaced vertical wall members disposed substantially at right angles to the longitudinally extending wall member and secured thereto for defining an ice freezing space, said space being open at its outer end, and a bell crank member pivoted adjacent the top of the longitudinally extending wall and having a handle normally disposed in a substantially horizontal lane, said bell crank member including a breaking member normally disposed in a substantially vertical plane adjacent the longitudinally extending wall member whereby, as the handle is rotated upwardly, said breaking member disengages the ice from the wall members and discharges it outwardly in a general horizontal direction.

4. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a separable rigid metallic grid structure dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells containing ice cubes, a

plurality of lever members movably attached to the grid structure, angularly disposed breaking members attached to said lever members and projecting into said cells contiguous tothe ice cubes contained, and handle means attached at each end of the grid structure, said handle means being movable into abutting relation with the pan member for raising the grid structure and the ice cubes from the pan member, said lever members when operated being efiective to move said breaking members to break the ice bond between the ice cubes and grid structure.

5. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a separable rigid metallic grid member for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells containing ice cubes, handle means attached to the grid structure and having a portion movable to coact with the pan member to raise the grid member and the frozen ice cubes from the pan member, and means independent of the handles for breaking the bond between the grid member and one or more ice cubes as desired, Without disturbing the bond .between the remaining ice cubes and the grid member.

6. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a. pan member, a grid structure for dividing the pan member into a series of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure embodying an inflexible metallic partition extending longitudinally of the pan member and removable therefrom and a series of longitudinally spaced inflexible movable metallic elements substantially vertically disposed so as to define portions of the boundaries of ice cells on opposite sides of the longitudinal partition, said elements being movable angularly from the vertical, and manually operated means attached to the grid structure for raising the grid structure relative to the pan member and for angularly moving the movable elements relative to the longitudinal partition to break the ice bond between the grid structure and the ice cubes.

7. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a grid structure for dividing the pan member into a series of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure embodying an inflexible metallic partition extending longitudinally of the pan member and removable therefrom and a series of longitudinally spaced inflexible movable metallic elements substantially vertically disposed so as to define portions of the boundaries of ice cells on opposite sides of the longitudinal partition, and manually operative means attached to the grid structure for raisin the grid structure relative to the pan member and for moving the elements relative to the longitudinal partition to break the ice bond between the grid structure and the ice cubes.

8. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a metallic grid structure for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure including a rigid longitudinal wall member and longitudinally spaced movable rigid elements associated with the longitudinal wall member for removing ice cubes from the cells, leverage means for raising said grid structure from said pan member and means operatively attached to the movable elements for actuating the same to break the bond between the ice cubes and the grid structure, said means being so constructed and arranged as to afford successive removal of respective ice cubes from the grid structure and bein raised from said pan member with said grid structure.

9. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a removable metallic grid structure for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure including a rigid longitudinal wall member and longitudinally spaced movable rigid elements associated with the longitudinal wall member for removing ice cubes from the cells, said movable rigid elements being adjustable to different positions angularly in a direction from a vertical plane toward a horizontal plane to effect breakage of the ice bond between the ice cubes and the grid structure, and manually operable means connected to the grid structure and removable therewith from the pan member to raise the grid structure from the pan member and to afford successive removal of respective ice cubes from the grid structure.

10. In liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a separable metallic grid structure for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure including a longitudinal wall and spaced movable rigid elements associated with said grid structure, said rigid grid elements being movable to different positions to break the ice bond between the ice cubes and the grid structure, means for raising the grid structure and means for moving successive rigid grid elements to successively remove the desired number of ice cubes from the grid structure.

11. In a liquid congealing apparatus, a pan member. a grid structure removably positioned therein for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells for containing ice cubes, means for raising the grid structure from said pan member, said grid structure including a vertically disposed substantially inflexible longitudinal partition and longitudinally spaced substantially inflexible elements movable angularly with respect thereto, and manually operated means carried by the grid structure and arranged to displace said elements angularly to break the bond between the ice cubes and said grid structure, said manually operated means being raised from the pan member with said grid structure.

12. In a liquid congealing apparatus, the combination of a pan member, a metallic grid structure removably positioned therein for dividing the pan member into a plurality of cells for containing ice cubes, said grid structure including a central longitudinal wall member and longitudinally spaced elements movable angularly with respect to said longitudinal member, means for raising the grid structure from the pan member, and means carried by said grid structure for actuating the movable elements to break the bond between the ice cubes and the grid structure, said last mentioned means being operable to afford movement of said movable elements to effect separation of less than the entire number or the entire number of ice cubes from the grid structure.

13. In a tray of the character described, a removable grid dividing the tray into separate compartments for forming individual blocks of ice when a liquid is frozen in the tray, means for initially releasing the grid containing the blocks of ice from the tray, and means movably carried on the grid and having portions engageable between a portion of the grid and the respective blocks of ice to effect release of said blocks from the grid.

14. In a tray of the character described including a grid having a longitudinal grid plate and transverse grid plates dividing the tray into separate compartments for forming individual blocks of ice when a liquid is frozen in the tray, means for releasing the grid containing the blocks of ice from the tray, ice release shoes carried on the longitudinal grid plate and engaging the adjacent side faces of the blocks of ice, and means for shifting said shoes relatively to said grid plate for releasing the blocks of ice.

15. In a tray of the character described, a grid dividing the tray into separate compartments for forming individual blocks of ice when a liquid is frozen in the tray, means for raising the grid in the tray, movable means carried on the grid and having portions engageable between the respective blocks of ice and portions of the grid to effect release of said blocks from the grid, and means connected with the grid for effecting successive movement of said movable means.

EDWARD H. LUTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,755,795 Rhodes Apr. 22, 1930 1,870,370 Marchant Aug. 9, 1932 2,009,802 Hollock July 30, 1935 2,037,364 Brownstein Apr. 14, 1936 

